Hongkong Land has already spent $7.8 million on the Central Cityscape project, the firm's executive director, Raymond Chow, said yesterday.

Mr Chow said he expected that the project's pilot scheme, which started yesterday in Chater Garden and Statue Square, would be completed in October. After the enhancement work is finished, the area will be covered by trees and a new patterned pavement.

The scheme is the first stage of the corporation's grand beautification project for Central. 'The reason we are having this smaller-scale scheme first is we want to learn from this experience, so we will be better equipped to embark on our grand scheme of enhancing all of Central,' he said.

The idea took the corporation two years to implement because it needed to seek advice from consultants and negotiate with 11 government departments, as well as Central and Western District Council.

Another round of discussions to allow the biggest landlord in Central to realise the vision it outlined in its Cityscape project will begin either at the end of this year or early next year.

'It may take us another year to do the discussion job and we will work out a solution on funding, implementation and maintenance with the government,' said Mr Chow.